Paulo Thiago vs. Mike Pyle in the works for UFC 142

Following the success of the UFC‘s venture into Brazilian territory for UFC 134 last August, it came as no surprise when the world’s Mixed Martial Arts leader announced its desire to quickly return to the land that produced some of the sport’s greatest fighters. In fact, UFC 142, set to be held in Rio, will be Zuffa’s very first PPV event in 2012.

Now, Tatame is reporting that a bout between welterweights Paulo Thiago (14-3) and Mike Pyle (21-8-1) is targeted for the event. Pyle was last seen getting handled at the hands of rising prodigy Rory MacDonald at UFC 133. For his part, Thiago will be hoping to enjoy the same luck he did when he last competed in front of his compatriots, as a dominating performance saw him out-gun David Mitchell last summer in Rio.

Thiago was at the heart of one of the most shocking debuts in UFC history when he knocked out Josh Koscheck back in 2009.